Electrically-lighted sewing machine



Dec. 23, 1930. D. H. CHASON 1,785,856

ELECTRICALLY LIGHTED SEWING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet lDec. 23, 1930. D. H. CHASON 1,785,856

ELECTRICALLY LIGHTED SEWING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL H. CHASON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANU-FACTURING COMPANY, 01 ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, A GOIRIIORATION OF NEWJERSEY ELECTBICALLY-LIGHTED SEWING MACHINE Application filed DecemberThis invention relates to sewing machine lighting devices and has for anobject to provide a sewing machine with a built-in lighting device, asdistinguished from an at- 5 tachment, which will (1) operate directlyfrom the. usual commercial house lighting circuits without the use of astep-down transformer or other auxiliary apparatus; (2) will stronglyilluminate the work at the stitching point without casting objectionableshadows; (3) will not obstruct'the space under the overhanging gooseneckof the sewing machine; (4) will not glare into the eyes of the operator,and (5) will be of neat and attractive appearance.

To the attainment of the ends in view, the usual overhanging sewingmachine gooseneck has been slightly modified, preferably by providingthe downwardly inclined under wall of the needle-bar housing head at thefree end of the gooseneck with a seat for reception of the socket-memberof an electric lamp having its longitudinal axis substantially parallelto said under wall. The lamp is clined-under wall of the needle-barhead, which under wall is preferably slightly recessed to accommodatethe lamp. The center of illumination is close to the bottom end of saidhead and is slightly to one side of a vertical plane through the line ofseamformation, where it is in a position to project the light at a highangle down upon the stitching point. This is desirable, inasmuch as thelight is caused to shine onto the work between the toes of thepresser-foot and no objectionable shadow is cast byone of thepresser-foot toes onto the surface of the work between the toes wherethe line of stitching lies.' Also, the work is illuminated in rear of,as well as in advance of, the sewing point, so that the stitching may bereadily inspected without interference caused by the shadows of thepresser-foot and -bar. v 1

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a side elevation of a sewingmachine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectionon the line 44, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective'view located closelyadjacent the downwardly in 8, 1929. Serial N0. 411,323.

of the sewing machine gooseneck with the lamp-bulb and reflectorremoved. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the reflector, and Fig. 7 is asection on the line 77, Fig. 4.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention il-lustrated,-1 representsthe bed of a sewing machine havinga gooseneck including the overhangingarm 2 terminating in a housing head 3 for the needle bar 4 andpresserbar 5 carrying, respectively, the needle 6 and presser-foot 7.The gooseneck is provided in its under wall, at the juncture of the arm2 and head 3, with a seat 8 to which is secured by the U-shaped strap 9the socketmember 10 of an electric lamp including the lamp-bulb 11 whichis of a type adapted to operate directly on the usual commercialhouse-lighting circuits without .the use ofa stepdown transformer orother auxiliary apparatus. The socket 10 may have a neck 12 entering anaperture 13 in the arm 2 through which the connecting wires 14 pass fromthe socket 10 to the connector 15 adapted to receive the current-supplyplug 16. The socket 10 has a small side-aperture 10 which is entered bythe inwardly projecting hump 10" on the strap 9 to prevent the socketfrom turning. One leg of the current supply line 14 between theconnector 15 and the socket 10 includes the switch 16' which may be ofthe well known one-hole-mounting toggle-type, adapted for mounting in anaperture in the arm 2.

The downwardly inclined under wall of the head 3 is preferably recessedat 17 to partially receive the lamp-bulb 11.

The head 3 is provided on its inclined under wall with side seats 18connected at their upper ends by the top seat 19 in overlapping relationwith which is secured, by screws 20, the trough-shaped reflector 21which, together with the under wall of the head 3, constitute a completecircumferential enclosure for the lamp-bulb 11 and socket 10. Thedetachable reflector 21 blends in with the lines and surfaces of the arm2 and head 3, so that it is not conspicuous and appears to be acontinuous or integral part of the arm casting. r

The longitudinal axis of the lamp-bulb 11 and socket 10 is substantiallyparallel to the inclined under wall of the head 3, so that re moval andreplacement of the necessarily rather large lamp-bulb may be effectedwithout interference by the head 3-. There is a practical limit to thereduction in size of lamp-bulbs designed to operate directly oncommercial lighting circuits. This limit is much larger than that forautomobile type and flash or battery-operated types. The presentinvention is believed to be the first to overcome the obstacles in theway of a practical built-in sewing machine light using bulbs of a sizerequisite for direct operation on commercial lighting circuits.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis 1. A sewing machine having a gooseneck comprising an overhanging armtergo minating in a needle-bar housing head having a downwardly inclinedunder wall, an electric lamp including socket and bulb members disposedunder and closely adjacent said inclined under wall, and a trough-shapedreflector applied to said housing head, the

under wall of said head and said troughshaped reflector, taken together,constituting a complete circumferential enclosure for said lamp.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 in which the longitudinal axisof the lamp is substantially parallel to the inclined under wall of theneedle-bar housing head.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1 in which the under wall of theneedle-bar housing head is recessed to partially receive the lamp bulb.

4. The construction set forth in claim 1 in which the socket member issecured to 40 the under Wall of the needle-bar head by the U-shapedstrap.

5. The construction set forth in claim 1 in which the reflector issecured with its edges in overlapping relation with side seats speciallyprovided on the inclined under wall of the needle-bar housing head.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

DANIEL H. CHASON.

